Alpha and Omega 9: Missing Parents
by KingHumphrey
Summary: After having a disturbing flashback of his parents, Humphrey embarks on a quest to find them. Accompanied by Kate, Garth, Lilly, Marcel, Paddy, Daria, and his pups, the group journey's through the woods, uncovering clues as to the whereabouts of Humphrey's parents. Along the way, they encounter a hostile pack and a lost wolf from Humphrey's dark past.


_Chapter 1: Humphrey's Flashbacks_

It was a calm day at Jasper Park. It was Father's Day and Kate had everyone over to help her with her father's gift. Winston, Eve, and Tony would soon be arriving, and she needed all the help she could get. Her sister Lilly had come, along with her husband, Garth. Kate's husband, Humphrey was also helping, by watching their pups to make sure they stayed out of trouble.

"Humphrey?" Kate called out. "Could you and Lilly come and help me finish up Dad's gift? I want it to be perfect."

"But, Kate," Humphrey said. "What about the pups?"

"That is why we are here."

Everyone turned around to see their bird friends, Marcel and Paddy arriving at the entrance to the den.

"Marcel! Paddy!" Kate said, greeting them both.

"Guys, we're glad you could make it," Humphrey said. Marcel and Paddy looked around the den.

"Well," Paddy said. "It looks like everyone's here."

"And just in time," Lilly said. "They'll be here any minute."

"Which is why we need to get this done," Kate said. "Would you mind watching the pups while Humphrey helps me with this?" she asked them.

"Of course," Marcel said.

It wasn't too long before Winston and the others arrived at the den, mere moments after Kate and Humphrey finished up their gift for Winston and moved it out of view.

"Dad," Kate said as they came inside. "Happy Father's Day. We made something for you."

Kate and Humphrey took the gift out of its hiding place and gave it to Winston.

"Oh, Kate," he said. "It's beautiful. Thank you."

As Kate and Winston talked, Garth walked over and sat down next to his father.

"I really wish Mom was here," he said sadly, looking down at the ground.

"So do I, Garth," Tony replied, recalling the terrible accident that took his wife's life. It was a hunting trip that they had gone on many years ago when Garth was just a young pup. The caribou had gotten spooked and stampeded. The two had gotten separated in the chaos and when the dust cleared, Tony saw her lying in the dirt.

"She would be so proud of the wolf you've become."

While everyone was talking, the youngest of Kate and Humphrey's pups, Runt, wanted to ask his father something.

"Dad?" he said.

"Yes, Runt?" Humphrey replied, turning to face his son.

"Are you gonna visit grandpa today?"

"Runt," Humphrey said. "What do you mean? He's right here."

"No, not him," Runt said, motioning towards Winston. "I mean my other grandpa. You know, your dad."

Upon hearing this, Humphrey suddenly froze.

"Yeah, Dad," his eldest son, Stinky, said. "You never talk about your parents. How come?"

"I don't think he's even told me anything about his parents or his puphood for that matter," Kate said, turning away from her conversation with her father.

Humphrey remained frozen, not moving, not speaking and soon it became very apparent that something was wrong.

"Humphrey?" Kate said, approaching her dazed husband. "Are you okay?"

Humphrey said nothing, did nothing, except stand there, staring at the ground with a very troubled expression on his face and a frightened look in his eyes.

"Humphrey, what's wrong?" Kate asked, but Humphrey just stood there, his mouth barely open with a look on his face like a young pup watching something terrible happen right before their eyes.

What Kate and the others didn't know was that Humphrey was having flashbacks of his parents and the terrible thing that happened the day he saw them for the last time. In his head, he heard himself crying out for help.

"Dad, help!" he heard himself say. "Don't let them take me!"

Then, as suddenly as it began, his mind was jerked back into the real world and he saw that everyone in the cave was now looking at him.

"Dad," the middle pup, Claudette said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Humphrey lied. "I'm fine. Just, had a little something."

Kate looked around at everyone. "I think Humphrey needs some air," she said. "Come on."

Without another word, Kate led Humphrey out of the den and out onto the rock that jutted out from the cave's entrance. Once they were out of hearing range, Kate sat down to talk to him.

"What was that about?" she asked, sternly.

"Kate," Humphrey said, a slight quiver evident in his voice, a sign that something was clearly still bothering him. "I saw them."

"Wait," Kate said, trying to understand. "You saw them? Humphrey, who did you see?"

Humphrey didn't answer right away. Then, very quietly, barely above a whisper, Humphrey said, "My parents. Kate, I saw my parents."

_Chapter 2: Pack Meeting_

That night, Humphrey didn't sleep too well. He was continuing to think about his parents and was talking in his sleep as he did so.

"Mom. Dad. No, don't leave. Help!"

Outside the den, Kate and Winston were quietly talking.

"We can't keep it a secret any longer," Winston said to Kate. "He has to know the truth." Winston turned around and looked into the den, seeing Humphrey, who was still tossing and turning.

"I agree," Kate said, following her father's gaze. She had never seen him like this before and she hated it. She hated seeing the one she loved turn into someone she didn't recognize. It was like he had become a whole new wolf, not the Humphrey she knew and loved, but someone completely different. She wanted the old Humphrey back.

The next day, Winston called a pack meeting in the center of the valley, just outside the den. As everyone gathered around, Humphrey sat at the very back of the assembly, hoping to not be noticed. Winston stood on a rock with Cando and Hutch on either side of him.

"Do you really think we should tell him, sir?" Hutch asked Winston.

"He has to know," Winston replied before addressing the large assembly before him. "Everyone," he shouted, his loud voice echoing off the valley sides. "We are faced with a time we all knew would come, a time, we all knew would be difficult for this pack. But as difficult as it may be, it will not be as hard a time for us, as it will be for Humphrey."

Everyone turned to look at Humphrey sitting at the back, disappointed that this meeting was going to be centered on him when all he wanted was to stay out of it as much as possible, especially after the scene he made the day before.

"Humphrey," Winston said. "Come here. We have something we need to discuss that is of the utmost importance."

Humphrey reluctantly walked up to the front where he sat down and stared at the ground.

"It's time you learned how you got here," Winston said. "How you came to be in this pack."

There was a silence that followed his words.

"When we first found you, you were still quite young, but it was obvious you had been on your own for a long time," Winston began.

"What happened?" Humphrey asked.

Winston turned to Cando and Hutch. "I think you two should take it from here," he said as he stepped down from the rock and Cando and Hutch took his place.

"The day we found you started off like any other day," Cando began, recalling that fateful day that brought Humphrey into the pack.

"We were on a routine patrol through the woods around the outer edges of the territory that morning," Cando continued.

"We were about to turn back when we noticed a small shape appear through the morning mist," Hutch said. "I called out to you, but you didn't say anything. Soon enough, we could see that it was a young wolf pup, much too young to be out wandering on his own like you were."

They paused as Humphrey started to remember a little bit.

"We didn't recognize you from the Western or Eastern pack," Hutch went on. "Plus, you looked a bit malnourished. So, we decided to take you to Winston."

Winston joined Cando and Hutch on the rock.

"When they first brought you to me," he said. "It was very apparent that you weren't from either pack. Kate wasn't much older than you at the time and Lilly hadn't even been born yet. When Kate heard us talking, she became very curious and wanted to know what was going on, but I just told her that it was nothing she needed to know and to go back to her mother. We gave you some food and then we began discussing the matter of what to do with you. As we talked, we decided to leave you with me for the day, then decide what to do with you in the morning. You were quite rambunctious that day and it quickly became clear that you were an omega. You also became fast friends with Kate, mostly because she couldn't contain her curiosity of you."

Humphrey looked over at Kate.

"I remember," he said. "She wouldn't stop following me and asking questions for the first couple of days."

Kate turned away, a little embarrassed, and smiled as she remembered that first week she had known Humphrey all those years ago.

"After we decided to accept you into the pack," Winston continued. "It took some time before you met your other friends and formed your own little omega group, but thanks to Kate, you eventually did begin to feel comfortable here, and I think part of the reason for that was simply because she was here too."

"Over the first couple of years that you were part of the pack, you lot were quite the troublemakers, but it wasn't long before you all grew into the mostly responsible wolves you are today."

Humphrey opened his mouth to say something, but struggled to speak, the thoughts of what he was going to say weighing down on his mind. Finally, with much effort, he was able to get it out.

"But what…what about my…my parents?" This last word had to be strongly forced out.

Winston sighed, knowing full well that he couldn't answer this question.

"No one here really knows what happened the day you lost your parents. Only you can tell us that," he said.

"But all I remember are images in my head," Humphrey said. "I just remember a cage. And a truck, I think." But then Humphrey stopped, and very slowly, a look came on his face like he had just remembered something. And he had. "And my parents," he said, slowly. "Running after the truck. There was someone else with me. There was someone else in a cage next to mine, but I can't remember who was in it. The last thing I remember was my dad yelling that he would find me. That was the last time I saw them."

Once again, there was utter silence in the valley.

"Humphrey," Winston said. "We know your parents might still be alive somewhere. And if they are, we wouldn't want to keep you from them. So, I've decided to let you go and search for them. I've assembled a team to go with you, if you'd like.

Humphrey suddenly looked up, surprised at what was happening.

"Really?" he asked.

"Of course," Winston said. "If they're out there, you have to find them. Now, as I said, I've assembled a team to go with you if you want them."

"I'll take them," Humphrey said, eagerly. He couldn't believe that after all these years, he might actually find his parents. He thought he would never see them again, but this could be his chance.

"Good," Winston said. "Cando and Hutch will take you to the edge of the territory where they found you. You can start there. I'll also be sending Daria with you. If there's anything out there she'll hear it. And," Winston hesitated. "Although there's about a million things telling me otherwise, I'm sending your pups with you, too."

"I'll take Stinky," Humphrey said. "But Claudette and Runt stay."

"Humphrey," Winston said. "I think you know as well as I do that if you take one, it's not going to be long before you find the other two following you. You'd be better off with all three."

"All right," Humphrey said, reluctantly.

"We're going, too," Marcel said.

"Yes, if there's anything to see from the air, you'll hear it from us," Paddy agreed.

"I'm going, too," Kate said.

"And so are we," Garth said with Lilly sitting next to him.

"Very well," Winston agreed. "Now, try and get a good night's sleep tonight."

As the pack began to depart, Winston called after Humphrey.

"Humphrey."

Humphrey turned around to face him.

"Don't get your hopes up. There is a possibility that you might not like what you find."

Humphrey paused to think about this. It wasn't something he wanted, but he had to make room for the possibility that his parents were dead.

"And good luck."

_Chapter 3: At the Edges of the Territory_

It was early morning the next day, and everyone was up and getting ready to go on their journey.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Kate said to Humphrey as they were about to leave.

"Yes, I do, Kate. I have to do this," Humphrey said. "I have to know the truth."

"Okay."

It was around this time that Garth and Lilly arrived at the den.

"We're ready," Garth said.

"As are we," Marcel said as he and Paddy arrived.

"Good," Humphrey said. "Now all we need is Daria."

"I'm here," Daria said as she came in.

"Okay. Let's go," Humphrey said as everyone walked out of the den where Winston was talking with Cando and Hutch. As the group approached, Winston turned around to address them.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"We're ready," Humphrey said.

"Good. Cando and Hutch will only be able to take you to the edge of the territory where they found you. We need them here, in case the Rouge Wolves decide to attack again," Winston explained. "Good luck."

The group began to head off, but before they started heading down into the valley, Winston called after Humphrey.

"Humphrey."

Humphrey turned around and looked back at Winston.

"I hope you find what you're looking for."

After thinking about this, Humphrey turned and went to catch up to the group. They continued to walk slowly through the territory, and as they were about to reach the edge, Kate turned to Humphrey.

"So, your parents," she said cautiously, knowing how touchy a subject this was for him. "Do you really think they're alive?"

"Kate," Humphrey said. " I have to believe that they are. If I don't, then," he paused for a second before continuing. "I have nothing."

Kate looked over at him. "You have me," she said.

"Thanks," he replied.

By that time, the group had arrived at a particularly woody part of the forest. It was also very foggy and a bit chilly, too. This was where Humphrey was brought into the pack twenty years ago. Humphrey looked around as he began to remember that day.

"Well," Hutch said. "Here we are."

"This is all the farther we can go," Cando said.

"Good luck Humphrey," Hutch said before they turned and started heading back into the territory.

After Cando and Hutch had disappeared out of sight, Kate walked over to Humphrey who was still standing and looking around.

"Humphrey?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

"I remember this place now," he said after a while. "Vividly, but I remember it."

Everyone turned to look at Humphrey who was now pacing the forest floor, looking up at the trees as he spoke.

"I remember it was cold and I was really hungry because I hadn't eaten in a while. It was foggy, and I couldn't see much. Then I saw two figures through the fog, and I ran to them. I was just so happy to finally see another wolf again."

Humphrey stopped his pacing and quit looking up at the trees. Now, his gaze was fixed directly in front of him.

"They took me to Winston," he said, then turned his head to look at Kate. "And then I met you."

"Come on," she said. "Let's go."

And as the morning wore on, the group departed on their journey to find Humphrey's parents.

_Chapter 4: Humphrey's Other Pack_

After leaving the territory behind them, the group began to get to work. The cool morning mist slowly began to lift, allowing more of the surrounding forest to become visible. The tall trees, with their many leaves shaded much of the forest floor from the beating heat of the sun.

Stinky began to take the lead, using his profound sense of smell to try and pick up his father's trail.

"Well, Stinky," Humphrey said after letting his son sniff around for a few minutes. "What do you smell?"

Stinky looked up at his father. "You," he said. "But younger and less mature." Humphrey gave out a nervous laugh, as he knew that Stinky hadn't the faintest idea.

"Yep," he said. "That's definitely me."

"Anything else, Stinky?" Kate asked, trying to stay on track.

"Hold on," he said as he began to sniff the cool, morning breeze, then shifted his focus down, near the ground.

"There's a trail. It's faint, but it's there."

"Where's it headed?" Garth asked.

"Deeper into the forest."

"Well come on," Runt said, walking up towards the front. "Let's go see where it leads."

"Yeah, Stinky," Claudette agreed. "Lead the way."

"Okay," Stinky announced enthusiastically. "Follow me."

Kate and Humphrey looked at each other nervously.

"What is it?" Humphrey asked.

"This entire quest is betting on Stinky, Claudette, and Runt."

"Yeah? Try not to think about it."

They began to venture into the woods that were now just beginning to come to life with the sounds of the birds waking up.

As the day wore on, it began to warm up and the group occasionally stopped to bathe in the warm spots of sunlight that broke through the canopy. It was early evening, now. The cold air started to return, and the sun began to go down, but was still visible in the cloudy sky, when the group started looking for a place to sleep and Stinky suddenly stopped. Humphrey approached him, wondering what was wrong.

"Stinky," he said. "What is it?"

"I smell something really strange. It's unlike anything I've ever smelled before."

Everyone looked at each other as they thought about what he could be smelling out here. Kate looked down at him.

"Like what, exactly?"

"I don't know," Stinky replied, uncertainly. "It smells like a pack of wolves, on the other side of that hill over there." He looked over at a large hill that was completely devoid of any trees, not too far away from where they were standing.

"But there's something else about it," he continued. "It smells kinda like Dad."

"Well, maybe it's the pack where he was born," Lilly suggested.

"I don't think so," Stinky said. "I only smell Dad's specific scent. Nothing else resembling it at all."

"I don't understand," Garth said. True, not much was known about Humphrey's past, but it still didn't make sense why Humphrey's scent would be coming from a pack that he wasn't born into.

"Yeah," Kate agreed. "As far I know, he was on his own ever since he lost his parents."

"Well, you don't know much," Humphrey said. "None of us do. That's why we're here."

As everyone else stood around in the middle of the woods, with the sun continuing to sink in the sky, Runt took this opportunity to once again, express the tree-hugger within and began heading towards the nearest tree. It was quite tall and could've easily provided him with a good view over the top of the hill. But Kate noticed him running off before he could get there and called him out on it.

"Runt," she said. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go up and take a look," he shouted back, not stopping. However, right when he was about to start climbing, Humphrey took notice and put a stop to it.

"Runt, don't even think about it," he sternly said.

"But Dad," he began, but was quickly cut off by a much better and safer idea from Marcel.

"Don't worry, we'll go see what it is," he said as he and Paddy flew into the air to look over the hill.

The sky started turning orange as the sun began setting behind the trees on the other side of the hill. A few rays of sunlight allowed them to see into the woods behind the hill. Through the trees, they were able to make out a few dozen wolf dens, hidden within the foliage, before the sun disappeared behind the horizon. As they returned to the group, they began to talk amongst themselves.

"What did you guys see?" Kate asked.

The two ignored Kate's question and continued talking.

"That hill has such an amazing view," Paddy was saying. "It would make for an excellent place for a golf course, wouldn't you say sir?"

"Indeed, it would, Paddy," Marcel agreed. "If only there weren't so many trees in the way."

"Guys," Humphrey said, getting a little annoyed. "Let's focus, please. What did you see?"

"Oh, yes. Right. Well," Marcel started, but then Paddy interrupted him.

"We couldn't be sure," Paddy explained. "But it looks like there are several dens down there. Quite a big pack I'd say."

"Well, let's go," Humphrey said. He figured these other wolves might be able to help them. Besides, it was getting late and they needed a safe place to sleep.

"Wait," Garth said. "Are you crazy?"

"Does anyone ever say "yes" to that question?" Humphrey asked, then turned and kept going. He began to walk up the hill and soon the others started to follow him, seeing as how there would be no changing his mind. As they reached the top, they stopped and looked down the other side. Not much could be seen anymore as the sun had long since set and the surrounding forest was nearly pitch black. But it wasn't long before the dim, blue light of the moon began to light up the forest as the moon slowly rose into the cloudy night sky.

"I see them," Kate said, looking down through the trees. It was true. As the full moon rose, its immense light broke through the trees, revealing a few dozen stone dens, hidden within the foliage. Everyone gasped in amazement as they had never seen a pack this large.

"Wow," Lilly exclaimed.

"That's a lot of dens," Garth agreed.

As Humphrey looked down at the forest, his gaze slowly worked its way back up the hill until he saw something that made him freeze. Kate looked over at him and immediately recognized his face from Father's Day a few days before. Something was wrong again and she knew it.

"Humphrey?" she asked, but to no avail. "Just like last time," she thought. Kate followed her husband's gaze down the hillside to what he was looking at. But when she saw it, she was as confused as ever. As she followed his gaze, her eyes landed on a rotten tree, laying across the forest floor, slightly hidden within the woods, not too far from where the trees stopped, and the hill began.

"That tree."

Kate jumped in surprise when she heard his voice so suddenly. But something still wasn't right. It sounded dazed, almost emotionless.

Then, suddenly, Humphrey leaped forwards down the hill, running faster than Kate would've thought possible for an omega. She shouted after him.

"Humphrey, wait!" But it was too late. Humphrey had already taken off. Kate hurried down the hill after him and soon the others followed her.

As Humphrey reached the tree, he stopped, hardly even panting as he did so. Kate came up behind him a few moments later, breathing heavily.

"Humphrey," she said, trying desperately to catch her breath. "Why'd you run off like that?"

"I remember this place," he replied, still looking at the tree and sounding a little less dazed. "I've been here before, a long time ago, after I lost my parents."

Kate was confused. "But how?" she asked. "How did you know that you've been here before?"

"The tree," Humphrey answered, not lifting his eyes from the rotting tree.

"The tree?"

Humphrey finally looked over at Kate as he began to explain, just as the others were coming up behind them.

"Last time I was here," he said. "This tree almost killed me."

Everyone listened intently, as the cold night air blew around them.

"It was dark and stormy, and I was looking for shelter. The storm was the biggest I'd ever seen. The wind was so strong, the trees were starting to get uprooted, the rain was coming down so hard, I could barely see the end of my own snout. It had been about a month and a half since I lost my parents and I was barely surviving, all alone in the world with nothing at all when suddenly, there was a huge bolt of lightning that nearly hit me. All the fur on my body stood up, and then I heard it. The sound of a tree falling down. It all happened so fast, I barely had enough time to get out of its way, but not before it landed on my tail. The pain was indescribable, and I couldn't get free, no matter how hard I tried. So, I stayed there, all night and through much of the next day, until-"

"Quiet," Daria suddenly said, stopping Humphrey from finishing. "I hear something."

Everyone stopped and listened, but no one heard anything. Only Daria.

"What is it?" Lilly asked quietly.

"I don't know," Daria replied. "It kinda sounds like-"

"Shh!" Garth said. "I see something. There in the trees."

Everyone looked into the trees ahead, but not much could be seen, even by the bright light of the full moon. Only a dimly lit figure moving through the trees could be seen. It was a wolf, but that was about all that they could be certain of. The mysterious wolf stopped just short of the tree line, staying within the darkness of the woods. Then he spoke.

"Hey there!" he shouted. "Who are you?"

Kate approached Humphrey. "Humphrey, we should go," she said and slowly began to turn around, waiting for him to follow.

"Wait," Humphrey said.

"What are you doing out here?" the wolf asked.

Kate turned back around and walked back up to Humphrey. "Humphrey, we really need to go," she urged him. "For all we know, we could be trespassing on hostile territory."

"Kate relax," Humphrey said. "How hostile can it be?"

"Leave. Now! Or else," the wolf warned.

"Is that hostile enough for you?" Kate asked.

"Something about him seems familiar," Humphrey told her. The wolf continued to talk. "We don't welcome strangers into our pack. The last time we did, he nearly killed my son."

Humphrey suddenly looked up; his eyes wide with amazement as he remembered a crucial part of his puphood. "Oh my gosh," he exclaimed. "It can't be."

"Return to your own pack now before someone gets hurt," the wolf threatened, clearly getting annoyed with the delay.

Kate stepped forward in Humphrey's defense. "Try it and see what happens," she said, a slight snarl evident in her voice.

"Kate, wait," Humphrey said as he began to slowly walk up to the wolf.

"Stop!" the wolf shouted. "Don't take another step or it'll be the last one you ever take."

"Pups, get behind Aunt Lilly," Kate said as she and Garth started slowly advancing toward the wolf.

"Owen?" Humphrey asked into the woods.

"Who are you?" the wolf asked, the threatening tone in his voice now replaced with a hint of confusion. "How do you know my name?" As he said this, he slowly stepped forwards, into the light of the moon, revealing his face.

He was an older-looking wolf, about Winston's age, maybe a little older. The fur on his back was a very dark brown, and his eyes had a bit of a brown tinge to them as well. As he stepped into the moonlight, Owen was able to see Humphrey's face as well and he recognized him immediately.

"Humphrey? I thought I was rid of you," he said.

"Wait," Kate said, stopping her advancement. "You two know each other?"

"Unfortunately," Owen said. "Who's that?"

"My wife," Humphrey replied, turning to look at Kate.

"You married an alpha? Are you out of your mind?" Owen exclaimed.

Runt walked out from behind Lilly. "You have no idea," he said to Owen. Owen looked down at Runt.

"You don't know the half of it, kid," he said, then turned back to look at Humphrey. "I take it these are your pups?"

"Yes," Humphrey said.

"Why, what happened?" Claudette asked.

Owen smirked as he knew the answer to that question all too well. "Come inside our territory and I'll tell you all about it."

Everyone began to head past Owen, who remained still and silent. However, when Humphrey and Kate began to pass him, Owen stopped them and whispered in Humphrey's ear.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood today, kid. After what you did to Kyle-" but before he could finish, Kate snapped at him in Humphrey's defense before they continued on into the dark forest.

Owen led them on and soon, they began to see the dens more clearly. Some were packed together, others were spread farther apart. They were made of stone with moss covering many of them. Each den was in the shape of a small dome with an arched opening in the front.

As the group was led through the heart of the territory, wolves from the pack looked at them in suspicion as they hadn't had a stranger in their pack for many years. Owen led them into a small clearing were there were fewer trees and the moonlight shone down a little more. In this clearing, the first thing that everyone noticed was two dens, larger than all the others, fairly close to each other. The group was led to one of them and it became clear that this one was Owen's.

When they got closer to the opening, an old wolf came out of the den, with dark grey, almost black, fur and bright blue eyes. She was a bit older than Owen, but only by a few years. Her tail was also a bit frayed due to her age.

Owen approached his wife as the group waited several feet away. "Where's Kyle?" he asked her.

His wife, Amy, having noticed the group that her husband had come with, waited a moment before answering. "He's off on a hunt with Grace," she said, then motioned towards the group behind him and asked, "Who are they?"

Owen turned his head around to look at the group, then returned his gaze back to Amy.

"You remember Humphrey," he said.

Of course," she scoffed. "How could I forget the brat that almost killed my son?" She took a moment to look behind Owen and glare at Humphrey as she said this. "Why did you bring him here? I thought we agreed to never let him within a hundred feet of our borders ever again. And who are they?" She looked back at the group that accompanied Humphrey.

"His family," Owen replied.

"He married an alpha?!" Amy exclaimed.

"That was my first thought, too," Owen said, beginning to walk past his wife so he could turn around and face the group. "They need a place to sleep tonight."

Amy stayed silent for a moment or two before she sighed, saying, "Fine. You can use Kyle's den, he shouldn't be home until late tomorrow afternoon."

The group started heading towards the other den and Kate and Amy exchanged dirty looks. As they entered the large den, they looked around, marveling at the sheer size of it. It was very roomy inside, bigger than any den they'd ever seen. At least fifteen adult wolves could comfortably sleep inside its walls.

"Wow," Runt said in amazement. "This is the biggest den I've ever seen."

Everyone settled down to sleep wherever they wanted since it was so big. Kate and Humphrey were laying together in the far back of the den, talking quietly so as not to disturb anyone.

"What is it between you and Owen's family?" Kate asked. "What happened?"

"You know how I was talking about me getting stuck under the tree in that storm?" Humphrey asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, as I said, I was out there all night, and for most of the next day, when I saw another wolf pup come running out of the woods," Humphrey started explaining. "I yelled out to him for help and he stopped and came over. He said his name was Kyle, and that his dad was the leader of their pack. I asked him where exactly his pack was and if he could go and get his dad to help. He told me that they were just beyond the tree line and that he would be back soon. About ten minutes later, he came back with his dad and a few other male alphas and eventually they got the tree off my tail. The pain was beyond excruciating and I could barely even move it. It was bleeding and I was so weak with pain, hunger, and overall exhaustion that I could hardly even get up. So, they decided to take me in."

"But what happened that got you thrown out?" Kate asked. Humphrey was about to answer when they heard Stinky's voice from the other side of the den.

"Could you guys be a little quieter, please?"

Humphrey turned to look at Kate.

"Look, Kate," he said. "It's getting late and we should probably get to sleep."

Kate agreed, and they laid their heads down to go to sleep. As the cold night wind blew through the den, and as Kate and the others drifted off to sleep, Humphrey lay awake, thinking about Kate's question, and the terrible answer that accompanied it.

_Chapter 5: Family Matters_

Humphrey woke to the bright sunlight streaming in through the entrance of the den. He opened his eyes but squinted as the sun was in his eyes. Humphrey yawned and slowly got up and stretched. A shadow passed over the cave as something blocked out the light of the sun. Owen entered the cave and approached Humphrey.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"I've had better nights," Humphrey replied.

"Come to me once everyone else is up." After saying this, Owen turned and left the cave.

Not too long after, Kate began to wake up, and it wasn't long before the others were up, too. Humphrey led them outside where Owen was waiting.

"Come with me," he said. "We have a lot to talk about."

Owen led them into his den. They all sat down, and he began telling them about Humphrey's time in his pack.

"It happened many years ago, when I was much younger, and my son, Kyle was just a pup," he said. "There was a terrible storm one night and the next day, Kyle wanted go out and look around because he heard a large crash of thunder just outside the territory. So, I let him. Not ten minutes later he came back, saying that there was a wolf pup stuck underneath a tree. So, I gathered three of our strongest alphas and followed him into the woods. When we got past the tree line, sure enough, we saw a young pup with his tail pinned underneath a tree that had fallen during the storm."

"We quickly came up with a plan to free you from underneath the tree. Two of the alphas got on one side of the tree and the other one got on the other side with me. We simultaneously lifted and eventually, Kyle was able to reach under and pull you out. Once you were free, we could see that you were seriously injured. So, we took you back to the pack and nursed you back to health. You lived peacefully here for about year or so. That's when you started getting mischievous."

"One day, you were out on your own beyond the territory. Kyle stayed behind for Alpha School. It was around mid-day when I told him to go and get you-"

"That was the biggest mistake I ever made."

Everyone turned their heads to see another wolf standing in the entrance of the den. Kyle was much younger than his father and had bright tan, almost yellow fur. But the thing that was most noticeable was that his back-left leg was deformed, as if the leg had been broken, then re-healed in an irregular position.

"Dad sent me to go and find you," Kyle said. "I went past the tree line and stood at the bottom of the hill looking around for you. Then I heard a noise coming from the hill. I looked up and saw you sliding down the hill in a log. You were already at the bottom and I couldn't get out of the way in time. You hit me with so much force that my leg was shattered and then you jumped out of the log before it hit a nearby tree. It wasn't long after that that we banished you. Thankfully, once my leg healed, I was actually faster than before. Hunts are much easier for me than for anyone else."

"So," Owen said. "Why are you here?"

"I'm looking for my parents," Humphrey replied.

"Your parents?" Owen said in surprise. "Humphrey your parents are dead."

"Do you really know that?" Kate asked.

"No," Owen replied. "But it's best if you just accept it and go home."

"I'm going anyway," Humphrey said. "I set out to find my parents and that's exactly what I'm going to do. No matter what, I'm going to find them."

"Fine," Owen gave in. "We'll send you with some of Kyle's hunt. You'll need it. But just know that you've sealed your fate and the fate of everyone with you."

"Your concern is touching, but I've got a family to find," Humphrey said.

As the morning came to an end, Humphrey and the group set out from the pack with Marcel and Paddy carrying the rations in their golf club bag. They traveled for a few days with Stinky leading the way and they soon ran low on food. One day, Stinky gave some alarming news.

"I smell humans."

A feeling of worry passed over the whole group as they'd had their fair share of unpleasant experiences with humans.

"How far, Stinky?" Kate asked.

"There's a whole town not too far down that hill over there," he replied.

"Okay, let's find another way around," Garth said.

"Wait a second," Humphrey said.

"What is it now?" Kate asked him, a little annoyed.

"I smell something. Something I haven't smelled in years. Not since-" he stopped, and his eyes suddenly shot wide open. Kate noticed this immediately.

"Humphrey," she said. "Please don't do this again."

But it was already too late, and Humphrey bolted down the hill towards the town.

"Not again," Marcel said. The group hurried to catch up to him as the sun set.

Humphrey stopped at a chain-link fence around a small backyard. There was a small doghouse in the corner with a name plate above the doorway that read, "Lizzy".

Kate came running up behind him. "Humphrey, it's not safe to be out in the open like this," she urged.

"Yes, Kate," he said. "I remember what happened last time."

"Then you know that we can't stay here, Humphrey."

"Humphrey?" said a voice from the other side of the fence.

Everyone stopped and looked at the doghouse as a dog slowly emerged from the entrance. She was a bit smaller than Humphrey and she had both purple fur and eyes. She was wearing a collar with a chain attached to it. The chain was no doubt tied to a stake inside the doghouse, as she couldn't reach the fence.

"Wait a second," Humphrey said, approaching the fence and looking at the purple dog. She looked almost nothing like a dog, resembling a wolf more than anything else.

"I know you," he said. There was silence as Humphrey racked his mind, trying to remember who this was. Then it hit him.

"You're my sister," he said.

"Humphrey? Is it really you?" the dog said.

"Yes, Kenya. It's me. I'm here," Humphrey said, his voice quivering.

The group stood in amazement, not believing what they had just heard.

"I thought I lost you," Humphrey said. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Kenya asked. "After we lost our parents, they took me to this town where I was put in another cage. And then a few days later a human came in and took me here. He calls me Lizzy, but I don't know why."

"Are you okay?" Humphrey asked.

"I'm fine. It's a terrible life, though. He's constantly telling me what to do and giving me this cheap excuse for food. And he never lets me outside to play or interact with the other dogs. I tried that once, and now I know better. That's not who I am, Humphrey. I want to come with you. Can you help me?"

"Of course," Humphrey said. "Marcel, Paddy. See if you can get her free."

"We're on it," they replied.

The two flew over the fence and landed in the yard. They went into the doghouse and before long, the stake was out.

"Now we just need to get you on the other side of that fence," Humphrey said.

He looked around, looking for something to use to get Kenya out. Then he saw the perfect tool. He turned back to Kenya.

"I have an idea," he said. "You might want to get out of the way." Then he thought of something. "Actually, you know what?" he said. "Go into your house thingy."

"You mean my doghouse?" Kenya said.

"Um, yeah, let's go with that," he said, then ran back up the hill.

Once he was at the top, he yelled down to the others to get out of the way. He ran over to half of a hollowed-out log and pushed it down. Then he got in and rode it down the hill towards the fence. Humphrey jumped out just before it crashed through the chain link fence into the backyard. Kenya looked out of the doghouse and seeing the logboard, she turned to Humphrey.

"I should have figured you'd do something like that," she said.

"Really?" Humphrey said. "How'd you know?"

"Humphrey," Kenya said. "You're Dad's son."

"Fair point," Humphrey agreed.

Suddenly, a light turned on inside the house as the owner was coming outside to investigate the noise.

"Come on, let's go," Humphrey said, and they ran off into the woods. As the lights of the town faded from view, Humphrey couldn't have been happier to have his sister back.

_Chapter 6: A House Divided_

As they moved through the night, the group began looking for a good place to sleep as Humphrey filled Kenya in on all she had missed over the past twenty years since they last saw each other.

"So," Kenya asked. "What were you doing out here before you found me?"

"I'm looking for our parents," Humphrey replied.

"Humphrey," Kenya said. "I'm sorry, but our parents are probably dead."

"How could you say that?" Humphrey said. "Look, I get it. You haven't seen them in years. Neither have I. But I miss them, more than you can imagine." Then he paused. "Well, actually not more than you can imagine. You probably miss them just as much, but you know what I'm saying. If there's a chance that we can all be reunited as a family again, then I'm not going to give that up."

"Okay," she said. "Then I'm with you."

Eventually, they found a nice area, fairly clear of trees and shrubs to rest in. The next day, when they awoke, by the light of the rising sun, Humphrey realized something that he couldn't the night before simply because it was too dark.

"I know this place," he said, looking around. "This is where it happened."

"Where what happened?" Kate asked.

"Where we lost our parents," Humphrey answered. "It was too dark to see before, but now I see it, clear as day."

"Do you remember what happened?" Garth asked.

"No, it's all still just a blur," Humphrey replied.

"Humphrey," Kate said. "We're still too close to the human dens. And on top of that, we haven't seen anything to hunt for food. No deer, no moose-"

"I don't like moose," Humphrey interrupted.

"Yes, we know," Garth said. "We all know what happened when you-"

"Okay, Garth, I really don't want to remember any more. I had almost erased that from my memory," Humphrey said.

"Wait," Kenya asked. "What happened?"

"Can someone else tell her?" Humphrey asked. "I skipped over that part when we were talking last night."

"Come on," Garth sighed, leading Kenya about ten feet away.

Humphrey and Kate resumed their conversation. It wasn't a minute after they started up again when they heard Kenya exclaim in surprise.

"Whoa! Um, that's great Garth, I do not need to know any more!"

She walked back to join the group again, and as she was passing Humphrey, he leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"It was horrible."

"Humphrey!" Kate shouted, trying to regain his attention. Humphrey turned and looked at her. "As I was saying, we haven't seen any food, and we've been gone for a while. My father and the rest of the pack are probably getting worried about us. Maybe we should start heading home."

"What?" Humphrey exclaimed. "No. I can't. I know they're out there somewhere, Kate, waiting for me to come home, and I have to find them."

"Humphrey, I know you want to believe they're alive but-"

"I know it," he shouted. "I know they're alive! They have to be. They just have to."

"Humphrey," Garth said. "I agree with Kate. You need to turn back before you get yourself or someone else killed."

Humphrey thought about this as the day wore on. As all this arguing was going on, Daria mainly stayed out of it, listening. Suddenly, she heard a very disturbing sound, a sound they were all afraid to hear. But as Daria tried to warn them, they just ignored her, too engulfed in their argument to pay any attention.

"Guys," she said. But no one heard her. And what happened next caused her to forget all about what she had heard.

"I can't just give up and forget them," Humphrey was saying to Kate. "They are the only family I have left, and nothing is going to stop me from finding them. So, if you want to go back to your nice, warm, cozy den and your own parents then go, I don't need your help!"

Everyone became silent as a response to this sudden outrage. Kate and Humphrey had always been a happy couple. They never fought and they never yelled at one another. And even if they did, no one would've suspected Humphrey to be the one to start it.

Kate looked at Humphrey, her mouth slightly open and a distraught look in her eyes. She no longer recognized her husband. She didn't see the fun-loving omega that she poured her heart out to, she saw someone she didn't know. Humphrey would never have yelled at her, he never would've pushed her away and told her to leave, he would've wanted her right there with him. And he never would've hurt her the way he just did. Kate didn't know who she was looking at, but she knew it wasn't the wolf she fell in love with eight years ago on that train.

Humphrey didn't do anything at first, but then he realized that he had hurt Kate. And he had hurt her bad. And an overwhelming feeling of guilt washed over Humphrey and he felt terrible.

Humphrey began walking toward Kate to comfort her, but as he started moving towards her, Kate took a few steps back, increasing the distance between them. A wave of sadness hit Humphrey very hard when she did this.

"Kate," he said. "You know I didn't mean that, right? You know I would never hurt you as long as I live."

"You've changed, Humphrey," she said. "I don't know how, but you've changed."

"No, Kate," he said soothingly. "I'm still the same wolf you married. I'm still the same wolf that rescued you in the ravine, the same wolf that makes you laugh time and time again."

"I used to always believe that," Kate said and Humphrey's heart fluttered and skipped a beat when she said this. "But now I'm beginning to believe I don't know you anymore."

"Kate," Humphrey said again as he approached her. "Look at me."

Kate turned her head and looked into Humphrey's beautiful blue eyes that he had, no doubt, inherited from his mother.

"I will always love you," he said. "I will always be there when you need me, and I will never leave your side. I promise. And these words mark that promise, a promise that cannot now, or ever, be broken."

There was silence as a single tear rolled down Humphrey's cheek. The two looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Until Kate, too, began to cry.

"Oh, Humphrey," she said, burying her head into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Humphrey replied.

Everyone remained silent in the forest as the two embraced each other. But then Daria remembered what she had been trying to warn them about, but by now it was much too late. The hunters had arrived.

_Chapter 7: Wolf Trappers and Dog Catchers_

Everyone suddenly stopped as they heard Daria crying out for help. When they looked over, they saw that she had a snare pole around her neck and was being restrained by a human holding onto it.

Several trucks had slowly driven up while they were arguing and had completely taken them by surprise. The humans had gotten word from Kenya's owner that his dog had gotten loose and had run off with a small pack of wolves, as he had found wolf tracks in his backyard. The local dogcatchers visited the man's home and sure enough, they found the tracks of four or five fairly large wolves. So, they decided to pursue them and get the man's missing dog back the next morning. They took the road around the side of the town, towards the forest, and then went off-road into the woods. They heard loud barking, so they slowed down, trying not to make any noise that might scare the wolves off.

As the wolves turned to help Daria, they stopped as they heard Kenya crying out next to them. Another human had come up from behind and grabbed her while their backs were turned. She struggled and pulled as hard as she could against the pole, but to no avail. The man was simply too strong.

Humphrey turned and leaped at the human holding his sister but was pulled back to the ground as a snare pole was looped around his neck. He hit the ground with a thud that almost knocked the wind out of him, but he payed it no mind. He turned his head, grabbed the pole with his teeth, and pulled the human down to the ground, causing the man to let go of the pole. Humphrey tried running back to his sister but was caught around the neck by a second pole and was dragged into a cage.

As Kate rushed to help Humphrey she stopped when she heard her pups calling out to her. The humans took this opportunity to capture her as well and it wasn't long before the whole group was subdued and placed in cages.

Runt was stuck up a tree, which wasn't a surprise to the wolves, who had seen him in a tree plenty of times in the past, but left the humans dumbfounded, as they had never even heard of a wolf climbing up a tree before. But it was clear that he wouldn't be safe for long. Runt hadn't been able to climb up very far and was too scared to go any higher. Plus, the man had taken the crate he going to put Runt in and used it as a stepstool so that he could reach the pup.

"Dad," he shouted. "Please, don't let them take me."

"No!" Humphrey shouted. His memory suddenly became fully restored, and in that moment, he remembered every detail of what happened the day he lost his parents, because it was happening again, right now. In the exact same place, and the exact same way it happened twenty years ago. Humphrey's parental instincts kicked in and he knew he had to get out of that cage before he lost his pups, like his parents lost him.

_Chapter 8: The Ultimate Sacrifice_

"No!" Humphrey yelled from the cage he shared with Kate. "I won't let them take you."

"Humphrey," Kate said. "We have to get out of here."

"I know," he said. "I know."

But time was wasting, and Humphrey knew that what precious time they had could not be spent on formulating a plan. The cages they were in weren't like the crates that he and Kate were transported to Idaho in. These were cages, made up entirely of metal wiring. The cages were also quite long, allowing for lots of moving room.

Knowing this, Humphrey backed up until he couldn't back up any further, then ran into the metal door with his head. It gave him an incredible headache, but all he could think about was saving his pups and preventing a relapse of the accident with his parents. After ramming the door, Humphrey staggered back, dazed, and waited for his blurred vision to clear before ramming it again. The second time, he could see that the metal was indeed beginning to bend.

Humphrey rammed the cage door again, and then again, each time pushing the door out further. But it was taking too long. The humans had gotten both of his pups into a smaller cage and one other had gotten Runt down from the tree. He was running out of time. Determined to make sure his pups didn't go anywhere, Humphrey backed up one last time, and charged at the door at full speed, hitting it as hard as he could and knocking it clean off the hinges.

He tumbled out of the cage and fell to the ground, his head pounding with pain. He staggered back to his feet, shook it off, then ran after the human that had Runt. Humphrey leaped onto the human, causing him to fall backwards and drop Runt. The man screamed in pain as Humphrey clamped onto the man's arm, tasting blood. At that moment, another human went to intervene. Kate saw him and tried to warn Humphrey, but it was too late.

The sound of a gunshot was sent ringing through the air. The forest fell silent as everyone stopped and looked in the direction of the sound. They were stunned by what they saw. The end of the gun was smoking, still burning hot from the gunfire. Everyone looked over at Humphrey, who was standing still as a statue, just like he had done so many times already on this journey. Except there was one major difference. A good portion of Humphrey's fur on his right side behind his shoulder was soaked red with blood.

_Chapter 9: The Wounded Warrior_

"Humphrey!" Kate shouted.

As soon as he felt the excruciating pain in his side, Humphrey's jaw relaxed and the man crawled out from under him, cradling his injured arm. Humphrey staggered, but remained standing. His face showed an expression of surprise rather than pain.

He turned his head and looked at Kate who just stood in the cage, horrified by what she saw. They held each other's gaze for a moment and then Humphrey collapsed onto the ground.

"NO!"

Kenya heard the gunshot from inside the animal control car that she had been put in. As she watched her brother collapse into a heap on the ground, her eyes filled with rage and she crashed through the side car window.

She stood up and attacked the human with the gun, grabbing it by the barrel, taking it from the man's grip, and pulling him down to the ground. Kate got out of the cage and went to one of the pickup trucks to get Stinky and Claudette's cage off the back while Marcel and Paddy went to rescue Garth, Lilly, and Daria. It wasn't long before the humans got in their trucks and left.

As everyone caught their breath, they heard incredibly labored wheezing behind them. They turned around to see Humphrey laying on the ground, struggling to breathe.

"Kate," he said.

Kate ran over to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Kate laughed, fighting back tears. "Says the guy that got shot," she said, smiling.

Humphrey tried to get up but fell over as soon as he stood up.

"Humphrey," Kate said. "You're really hurt. Stop trying to be the tough guy."

"I'm not trying to be the tough guy," Humphrey denied.

Kate looked around. "Uh, yes, you are," she said. "I don't mean to be rude but, you're an omega, Humphrey. You're not supposed to be the tough guy. Garth is supposed to be the guy."

"That," Humphrey said. "That argument is both academically fit and logically sound."

"Do you even know what that means?" Kenya asked.

"Not a clue."

The group stood around their injured friend, thinking about how to move him when Kenya suddenly had an idea.

"I've got an idea," she said. "Don't move, I'll be right back."

"Oh yeah, that's _real_ funny," Humphrey said sarcastically as Kenya ran off.

About ten minutes later, Kenya returned with the logboard.

"Wait a minute," Humphrey said, finally succeeding in sitting up on his stomach. "Let me get this straight: You went all the way back, down the hill, back to the people that tried to kill us, grabbed the logboard, pushed it all the way back up the hill and through the forest, while I'm laying here, dying. Did I miss anything?"

"No, I think you pretty much covered it all," Kenya replied.

"Why?" Humphrey asked. "This is not the time for fun. You know that, right? If _I'm_ saying it's not the time, then it's not the time?"

"I know," Kenya said, casually.

"Then what was your endgame, here?"

"We can use the logboard to safely move you so we can get back to your pack and you don't have to put any more stress on your body," she explained.

"Oh," he said. "That...that is…that is actually a good idea."

It didn't take too much time to get Humphrey onto the logboard, but it _did_ take a lot of pain and effort. Humphrey laid down on his good side with the bullet wound facing up.

They moved along slowly, covering very little ground. In about an hour, they came across something very disturbing. They were only about a mile or so from the area where Humphrey had been shot, but all around them were dens. But these dens were caved in, broken, and utterly destroyed, no doubt by humans. This is what remained of Humphrey's pack.

Humphrey struggled to sit up on his stomach to look around, but immediately regretted it. Strewn about the ground, covered in moss, were the bones of dead wolves, still in their exact positions from when they died nearly twenty years ago. It was absolute carnage. A great struggle, no doubt took place here.

"Oh no," he said.

"What?" Kate asked. "What is it?"

"This was my pack," Humphrey explained.

"What happened here?" Lily asked.

"I don't know," he replied.

"We should keep moving," Garth said.

They slowly and carefully pushed the logboard around the dead wolves' remains until Humphrey suddenly asked them to stop. He sat up again to get a better look, and soon, everyone else saw what he was looking at.

Just ahead of where the logboard was sitting, were the skeletons of two wolves that were laying side-by-side, facing each other. Their bodies were a mirror image of one another in the way that they were positioned. Backs slightly arched, tails down, both back legs close to each other, one front leg pointing down, and heads tilted slightly downward towards the other. Their other front legs were also touching, one on top of the other, in the same manner as that of a human holding hands. One skull was smaller than the other, yet both spines were the same length, inferring that one wolf had been female, and the other male. One last thing Humphrey noticed was that the heads were very close together. This apparent husband and wife had, no doubt, been rubbing noses during their final moments. Humphrey had no idea that these were his parents.

It was a very heartbreaking sight to see and the group _did_ remain for a short time to give a moment of silence to these two wolves who clearly loved each other. Kate even began to think that this might be Humphrey soon. And that reminded her to keep moving.

But when the group started to move on again, they stopped when they noticed that they were missing someone. Stinky was still standing in the middle of the destroyed dens, sniffing the ground near one of them.

"Stinky," Kate said. "Come on. The quest is over. There's no point in searching any longer."

"But I smell wolves," he protested.

"Yes, there were wolves here, but now they're gone."

"No, I smell tracks leading into the forest, that way," Stinky said, pointing into the woods.

"Wait," Humphrey said, sitting up immediately, but painfully. "You mean there's survivors?"

"Yes."

"Kate, please," Humphrey said. "We have to follow the trail."

Kate didn't respond right away, but then she said, "Alright. But if we don't find anything by tomorrow afternoon, we go home."

"Deal," Humphrey eagerly agreed.

The group turned the logboard and began following Stinky into the woods. They traveled very slowly, taking many hours to go a short distance. By the time evening started rolling around, they came to a sandstone cliff that had dens carved out in the side. This was where the survivors of Humphrey's pack had built their new dens.

"What do you smell, Stinky?" Kate asked.

"I smell a pack, Dad. Your pack," Stinky said.

"Do you smell any survivors?" Humphrey asked.

"No, just the remnants of the pack," Stinky answered.

A feeling of disappointment and sadness passed over the whole group.

"Well then," Kate said. "I'm sorry Humphrey. There's nothing left for it. We should go home now."

As the group began to turn back around, away from the cliff, Humphrey felt a new sense of determination. He gathered up as much of his strength as he could, stood up, and slowly moved off of the logboard.

"Humphrey!" Kate asked. "What are you doing?"

Humphrey, for the third time, said nothing, but slowly continued back towards the cliff.

"Humphrey," Kate called, but to no avail. He just kept going.

Humphrey eventually reached the entrance of the biggest cave that was carved out into the sandstone cliff, but as soon as he reached the entrance, Humphrey collapsed onto the ground again.

A wolf appeared from inside the den. He had a pitch-black mane that was short and laid back smoothly against his head. He had a dark grey coat of fur and a wide, broad snout. His eyes were a deep, golden color, and he looked to be in his early thirties. But his most noticeable features were two scars in the shape of claw marks. There was a small one running down his left shoulder and an even bigger one on his left side, that ran diagonally from the top side of his neck, all the way down across his neck to his chest. This scar was from a not-so recent wolf fight that took place around fifteen years before, but the fur still hadn't quite grown back.

He looked at Humphrey with surprise in his eyes as he recognized him immediately. Humphrey looked up at the wolf and noticed his scar. It was apparent that he had been through a lot. Humphrey then looked down at the side of his thigh. He couldn't see it because the fur had long since covered it up, but the scar was there. He had gotten it when him and Kenya were taken from their parents. And although he couldn't see them, Humphrey also thought about the many small scars on the back of his neck in the shape of a bite mark, which his unkempt mane of fur covered up very well. He had gotten those sometime during the two months he spent living in the woods by himself when he had an encounter with another animal. He also looked down at his tail, which didn't seem like it had been crushed by a tree and swung on twice by another wolf, but Humphrey knew the trauma his poor tail had endured, and it reminded him of all that he had also been through.

"I can't believe it," the wolf said. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Humphrey looked up at him with a look of confusion in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't think I know you."

"I thought you were dead," the wolf told Humphrey.

"Yeah, well I might be anyway, so," Humphrey struggled to explain, growing weaker by the second, his body threatening to fail him. The wolf turned into the darkness of the cave and called out to another wolf.

"Get him inside."

A group of alphas appeared and carefully moved Humphrey into the cave with the others following. Once everyone was inside, the wolf that addressed Humphrey now addressed Kate and the group that had come in with her.

"Who are you?" he asked Kate.

"I'm Humphrey's wife," she answered. "But more importantly, who are you?"

"He married an alpha?" the wolf laughed, and then sighed. "I should've known. He always was the rebellious one." The wolf chuckled a little. "Well then, if you're his wife, I guess that makes me your brother-in-law."

"Wait a minute," Kate said. "You're his brother? He never told me he had a brother."

"He never told you he had sister, either," Garth said.

Humphrey said nothing, mainly because he simply was not strong enough to do so. But then, very slowly and with much effort, Humphrey answered her.

"Yes," he said. "I remember now. Adam, my alpha brother. He stayed behind for training with our grandparents the day our parents went missing."

"Humphrey," Adam said. "They didn't go missing."

"You mean they're alive?" Humphrey asked, excitedly.

Adam paused and looked around the cave. "Look Humphrey," he said. "You need to rest and then I'll tell all of you what happened in the morning."

Morning came and with it, the answers that everyone had been so desperately searching for. Everyone gathered around Humphrey and Adam to hear the last part of the great mystery they had all been chasing.

"The day began like any other," Adam began. "The sun rose, the birds were singing, everything seemed like it was going to be fine. About an hour after we were all up, Mom and Dad decided to take you and Kenya out for an early morning walk. I stayed behind with Grandma and Grandpa for alpha training. It was around 45 minutes later when they came running back without you two."

"They told us that they were ambushed by humans and that they somehow, fell asleep after feeling a sharp pain in the side of their necks while the humans took you and Kenya. When they woke up, they saw a truck driving away with the two of you in cages in the back."

"Just as we heard all this, several human trucks came and with them, dozens of humans, too. They came out of the trucks with guns and began shooting everything, destroying the dens. We decided to have some of our alphas cover the omegas and pups as they escaped, while the rest of the alphas went with and protected them. But Mom and Dad insisted upon helping to cover the evacuation and distract the humans, even though they were omegas, too. Every den was destroyed and all of the alphas that stayed behind were killed," Adam paused, a look of sorrow in his eyes.

"Mom and Dad, too. I'm sorry, Humphrey."

Humphrey suddenly realized that the two skeletons they had stopped to look at, were none other than his own parents. He suddenly found it exceedingly difficult to breathe as the weight of this news began to crush his already weakened heart. Kate looked over at him and immediately rushed to his side.

"Humphrey!" she shouted. "Humphrey!"

Humphrey, finding it more and more difficult to stay awake, said nothing.

Kate laid down at her husband's side, tears soaking her fur.

"No. No, no, no, no," Kate cried. "No, Humphrey, please, don't do this to me. You can't do this. Don't leave me, please. You're all I have."

But the attempt was futile. Humphrey couldn't stay awake any longer, the weight of everything that had just happened, too much for his body to bear. As Kate laid there, tears streaming down her face and soaking his fur, Humphrey's mind slowly passed off into darkness and all became black as night.

_Chapter 10: The Whole Truth_

Humphrey was not dead but was very close to it. Upon hearing the news that his parents were dead; his weakened heart began to give out. He couldn't think straight, his eyes started to get heavy, and soon enough, he blacked out.

Humphrey's thoughts swirled around in his head, small pieces of this great puzzle that they had been chasing, lining themselves up, slowly showing the whole truth of what exactly happened that fateful day.

The flashback began, and Humphrey saw his parents, his brother, and his sister. He heard everything around him, the birds, the wind. He was reliving that day in his mind based on everything that he could remember.

It was an early summer morning. The air was just beginning to get hot and Humphrey was fast asleep on his sister's sleeping body.

The bright light of the rising sun shone into the cave, waking Humphrey up. He stretched and then nudged Kenya, wanting her to get up too, so they could play.

"Kenya," he said. "Kenya, get up."

Kenya slowly rolled over and opened one eye to look at her brother.

"What do you want, Humphrey?" she asked.

"Come on, get up, I want to play," Humphrey urged.

Kenya slowly got up and joined Humphrey as they walked outside their den. They didn't stray far, as was rule made by their parents. It wasn't long before the rest of the family was up. Humphrey's grandparents, who were the leaders of the pack, arrived at the den shortly after.

"Are you ready, Adam?" their grandpa asked.

"Yes, grandpa," Adam replied. "What are you guys gonna do while I'm at Alpha School?"

"We were thinking of going on an early morning walk," Martha, their mother said.

"Mom," Humphrey complained. "Kenya and I were gonna go over and play with Steven."

"It won't take long Humphrey," their dad, Gary, said. "We'll be back before you know it."

"Well, have fun," Adam said as he followed his grandparents.

Humphrey and Kenya followed their parents to the edge of the pack territory, which was dangerously close to a nearby human settlement, however they wouldn't discover that until it was far too late.

They walked past the borders, through the woods with the cool wind blowing through the treetops above them. They walked at a slow pace, looking around and admiring the nature around them. They had gone no more than a mile when they reached a small clearing and decided to rest there, and then afterwards turn and go home.

Just when they were about to turn back and head home, Gary caught an unsettling scent in the air, carried by the wind. It was the scent of humans, though he didn't know it simply because he had never smelled one before. But he did know that something bad was about to happen, but before he could react, he and Martha suddenly felt a sharp pain in their necks and soon after, passed out. The humans then moved to Humphrey and Kenya, who were backed up against a tree.

"Dad!" Humphrey shouted. "Help!"

One of the humans reached down and picked up Kenya who was screaming out for help. While his friend put Kenya into a cage in the back of their truck, the other human reached down for Humphrey who bit him on the hand. The man jerked his hand back for a moment, and then quickly reached back down and succeeded in picking Humphrey up. Humphrey struggled in the man's tight grip, trying to get free but to no avail.

"Mom! Dad!" he called out. "Don't let them take me!"

He was forced into a cage like his sister and then the humans got inside the truck and drove away. Humphrey's parents woke up just in time to see the truck driving off and began following it, but they couldn't keep up and soon the truck disappeared out of sight.

Inside his cage, Humphrey was terrified, and he didn't know what to do. Suddenly, there was a large bump as the truck drove over a large rock and Humphrey's cage fell out of the back of the pickup. It hit the ground hard, and then rolled a few times, throwing him around the inside until it hit a tree, knocking him unconscious. He woke up a day or two later in the middle of the night. The cage door had been pushed in, but in doing so, the locking mechanism had been destroyed making it easy for him to nudge the door open.

Once he was out of the cage, Humphrey felt cold, hungry, injured, but most of all, helpless and alone. He had a cut on his back thigh that was terribly painful. He spent the night under the tree, deciding that in the morning, he would have to venture off into the woods and try to survive on his own.

Dawn woke him and as he got up, he felt more hurt than the night before. He slowly got up, grimacing in pain, he headed off into the forest. As the day wore on, he found food in the form of some wild berries. Granted, they didn't taste very good and he didn't keep them down for very long, but it was something.

The next day went more or less the same way. Dawn woke him, he moved through the forest, and at the end of the day, he feasted on some berries. As the days turned into weeks, the berries became much more tolerable and his stomach had a much easier time keeping them down. What little injuries he had, healed quickly and he was doing fairly well on his own, until one night about a month later.

The day went fairly well, but that night, a large thunderstorm moved in. The downpour was torrential, and Humphrey could barely see the woods in front of him. Suddenly, there was bolt of lightning that struck a tree that he was passing and within moments, it fell on his tail, crushing it and pinning him to the ground. The pain was so terrible that he didn't even have the strength to try and free himself. So, there he lay, with the rain drenching his grey fur coat, all night and into the next day.

Humphrey was beginning to lose hope the next morning when he heard someone running through the woods. As whoever it was emerged from the forest, Humphrey could see that it was another wolf pup, about a year or two older than him, moving amongst the trees.

"Hey!" Humphrey called out.

The pup stopped and looked over at him, then ran over to where he was pinned beneath the tree.

"Are you okay?" the pup asked.

"Can't say that I am," Humphrey replied. "I am actually in a staggering amount of pain."

"What's your name?" the pup asked.

"Humphrey," Humphrey said. "What's yours?"

"I'm Kyle," Kyle answered.

"Where's your pack?" Humphrey asked.

"Not too far into the forest," Kyle answered. "My dad's the leader."

"Can you go get him to help me?"

"Sure. I'll be right back."

Kyle ran off back into the woods, leaving Humphrey to wait for his new friend to return with help. It wasn't long before he returned with his father and three other alphas.

They swiftly formulated a plan to free him and soon put it into action. Two of the alphas got on one side of the tree and the other two got on the other side. Then, they simultaneously lifted, and they were able to hold it up just long enough for Kyle to grab Humphrey and pull him out.

Once Humphrey was out from underneath the tree, they could see that he was more injured than they originally thought. His tail was crushed, bleeding, and he couldn't move it. He was so weak, he could barely even stand up. Kyle's father, Owen, spoke with the other alphas and they eventually decided to take him into their pack and nurse him back to health.

They slowly carried Humphrey back to their pack and for the next year, he lived and played among them as if he had lived there his whole life. He became so comfortable, that he had all but forgotten about his parents or anything else that had happened that day.

One morning, he went outside the territory, to the large hill near the fallen tree. The hill was completely barren of trees, but Humphrey found half a rotten log and pushed it up the hill. Once he was at the top, he hopped in and started riding it down the hill. Once he was at the bottom, he pushed it back up, and then rode it down the hill again. He continued this routine for a few hours.

When he went down for what he decided to be the last time, he saw Kyle coming out of the forest. But it was too late. Humphrey had already reached the bottom and Kyle couldn't get out of the way in time. The log hit Kyle head on, and then ran into a tree. Humphrey leaped from the log before it crashed into the tree and as he landed on the ground, he heard Kyle screaming in pain.

Owen came running through the forest moments later. Everything was explained to him and he immediately banished Humphrey from the pack. Humphrey had no choice but to turn and walk up the hill with his tail between his legs as Owen helped his injured son back home.

The rest of that day, Humphrey slowly moved through the woods, ashamed of his foolishness. After he was over the hill, the forest continued on. He spent the night out in the open; cold, hungry, and wanting to go back to his own pack. Only problem was, he didn't know where it was.

He woke the next day to a cold morning mist. Humphrey got up and began walking through the woods. It wasn't long before he saw two figures through the trees, but they were obscured by the mist.

"Hey!" one of the figures called out. "Who's there?"

Humphrey was so excited to see another wolf after what happened the day before. He ran up to the two wolves, who looked very surprised to see such a young pup out on his own.

They took him to their pack leader, Winston. Humphrey stood inside the den while Winston talked to Cando and Hutch, the two wolves that found him. While they were talking, a young, female alpha pup, about the same age as Humphrey, came out from behind Winston.

"What's going on, Dad?" she asked.

Humphrey looked over at her and he immediately fell in love. Winston turned to his daughter, Kate.

"Pack business, that's all. You'll understand when you're older," he said. "Now go back to your mother."

Winston and the others continued to talk for several minutes and eventually decided to leave Humphrey with Winston and the next day, Humphrey was accepted into the pack.

Over the years, he got to know Kate more and they became good friends very quickly. Kate also introduced him to Salty, Mooch, and Shakey, and it wasn't long before they formed their own little omega group.

As the years continued to progress, Humphrey grew into a strong, if a bit rebellious, omega. He and Kate got married after working together to get back to Jasper after they were taken to Idaho by humans. A few years later they had pups and adventure after adventure followed them everywhere they went, until one Father's Day that changed everything.

Humphrey slowly opened his eyes as his flashback ended and he regained consciousness. He woke to find his side soaking wet and he soon realized that Kate had been crying and she was still lying next to him. He slowly sat up, startling her, and everyone that was there.

"Humphrey?" Kate slowly said.

"Kate?"

"Humphrey!" Kate shouted, overjoyed that he was still alive. She was so happy that she jumped up onto him.

"Ow! Ouch!"

"Oh, right," Kate said, smiling. "Sorry."

Humphrey looked at her, and then at everyone else.

"What?" Kate asked. "What is it?"

"I remember what happened. I remember what happened the day we lost our parents."

Meanwhile, they had sent Marcel and Paddy ahead to Jasper to let the pack know they were alright. But when they arrived, they found complete chaos. Jasper Park was under attack. The Rouge Wolves had returned. And they had returned with a vengeance.


End file.
